POSTGRADUATE PROSPECTUS

8 FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIESThe degrees offered by the Faculty of Arts andHumanities are designed to provide students withthe knowledge they need to understand the natureof other societies and cultures, and to form ideasabout the past, present and future of the complexand multicultural world in which we live.Most departments obtained 5 or 5* rankings inrecent Research Assessment Exercises. This is justone indication of the international importance ofthe research activity carried out by our academicstaff, and staff research provides the basis ofteaching activity in the Faculty.The study of arts and humanities has been centralto SOAS activity since 1916. All Faculty staffare specialists in regions as well as disciplines,and all subjects taught can be combined withother disciplines across the School. The Faculty iscommitted to providing stimulating and accessibledegree programmes that enable students to studyparticular countries or regions in depth, and toexplore comparisons and contrasts across themajor areas of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIESWEBSITEwww.soas.ac.uk/faculties/artshumanitiesDEANProfessor Ian BrownASSOCIATE DEAN (LEARNING AND TEACHING)Dr Theodore ProferesASSOCIATE DEAN (RESEARCH)Dr Dolores P. Martinezand draw upon its internationally renownedexpertise in a range of languages and cultures.The Faculty departments submitted to theResearch Assessment Exercise in 2001 wereawarded top ratings of 5. While staff undertakea wide variety of research relating to Asia, Africaand the Middle East, their teaching is focusedaround three main areas: comparative andlanguage-specific textual and literary studies,language studies with linguistics at its core, andthe teaching of language competence acquisitionin a range of Asian, African and Middle Easternlanguages. Major research currently underway includes work on endangered languages,comparative literature and a range of othercultural and linguistic topics.The Faculty is home to the joint SOAS-UniversityCollege London Centre of Excellence in theTeaching and Learning of ‘Languages of the WiderWorld’, launched in 2005. It promotes and supportsexcellence in the teaching and learning of lesscommonly taught languages, particularly thoseof the Middle East, Africa, Asia and also Europe.These languages include many of growing civicand strategic importance, and it will significantlyenhance their national and international profile.All languages at SOAS are taught ab initio, andno prior knowledge is required.FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND CULTURESWEBSITEwww.soas.ac.uk/faculties/languagesculturesDEANProfessor Michael HuttPOSTGRADUATE STUDY AT SOASDEPARTMENTS• Anthropology and Sociology• Art and Archaeology• History• Music• Study of ReligionsCENTRE• Media and Film StudiesFACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND CULTURESAn interest in the peoples of Asia, Africa and theMiddle East is best grounded in an integratedunderstanding of languages and cultures. Teachingand research in the Faculty reflect this commitmentASSOCIATE DEAN (MASTERS)Professor Andrew GerstleASSOCIATE DEAN (RESEARCH)Term 1: Professor Andrew Gerstle;from January 2008: Professor Ulrich KratzDEPARTMENTS• Languages and Cultures of Africa• Languages and Cultures of China and Inner Asia• Languages and Cultures of Japan and Korea• Languages and Cultures of the Near andMiddle East• Languages and Cultures of South Asia• Languages and Cultures of South East Asia• Linguistics